


Bloom

by in_the_next_life



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Multi, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-07-16 00:13:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16074335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/in_the_next_life/pseuds/in_the_next_life
Summary: He liked the way she bit the tip of her tongue between her teeth as she tied perfect bows around stems and vases. He liked the way she always gave the base of the flowers one last fluff and a look of pride before presenting them, like she was sending a kid off to school for the first time. He even liked the way she blew her messy pink curls out of her face when she got sweaty arranging things to absolute perfection with more precision than a surgeon.It was all endearing and annoying as hell.





	Bloom

This had been his fifth visit to the flower shop in just three months. As he walked through the door, setting off the little bell above it, he caught her eye almost immediately. She cocked one eyebrow upwards, her fox-like grin amused. 

The shop was otherwise devoid of customers at this late hour; had he bothered to look at the hours posted on the door, maybe Vanitas wouldn’t have walked through the door ten minutes before closing. But much like everything else in his path, he barreled past it with singular focus.

The flower shop girl stood her ground behind her register, a hand on her hip as she waited for him to come to her. 

“Hey,” He greeted quickly, shaking droplets of rain from his damp hair. It had lost its usual volume and now was starting to lay long and flat against his head, sticking to his cheeks. He was out of breath but kept on talking anyway. “I need something that says ‘Sorry I’m a fucking idiot’ again. But in like, I don’t know,” He fumbled for words, hands gesturing vaguely in front of his chest. “Fucking purple, I guess?”

She shook her head at him and crossed her arms with a sigh. The black polish on her nails was fresh today, instead of chipped and nervously, idly bitten away. Her name tag, as always, read ‘Ava’ in faded black marker, punctuated by a little heart. “That bad, huh?”

Vanitas let out a heavy sigh and rolled his eyes, nodding.

“You got it, boss.”

Quickly, she flitted around the counter and got to work. He watched her slender hands tug at stems of baby’s breath and white roses and other flowers he had no names for, bunching them carefully together in one hand. It was hypnotizing watching how fast her choices began to come together into an elegant bouquet. Vanitas didn’t realize he’d been zoning out watching her until his phone vibrated in the pocket of his jeans.

It was a scalding text from Aqua. He slid it back into his pocket just as quickly as he’d slid it out. He didn’t need to read it to know how deep in shit he was; otherwise he wouldn’t be here watching Ava work her magic.

By the time he looked back up he found her carefully arranging leaves and flowers into a simple but charming blue glass vase she’d selected. It was perfect. It reminded him of Xion’s eyes. 

His first visit had been the result of a similar situation. His tendency to put his foot in his mouth (and up his own ass) was legendary, and “I’m sorry” was no longer able to cut it alone. Aqua had suggested flowers might be a nice gesture. It had made him groan at first but when he caught sight of the little glowing open sign of the flower shop covered in ivy on his regular walk home, he couldn’t resist stepping inside. After all, Aqua was usually right, and he was tired of being trapped in the doghouse.

Ava had greeted him with a cheerful but sleepy smile at the door then. He hadn’t paid too much attention at first, but she took his foul-mouthed request with vigor and whipped up something magnificent. Ventus loved it the minute he set eyes on it and covered him in forgiving kisses and that was when Vanitas realized this girl must have been in touch with some kind of magic. 

Subsequent visits had been the result of special occasions, mostly. Two birthdays and one date; once the girls had laid eyes on the bouquet he’d purchased for Ventus, they were just as smitten. At the very least, it made gift giving easy, and Ava always seemed able to give each order the perfect personal touch. 

He could tell she was getting more and more curious with each visit. Her head would cock to the side as she listened to him describe traits of each recipient begrudgingly but with tenderness in his voice he didn’t reserve for anyone but his partners. She seemed more and more confused as time went on and only recently Vanitas began to realize that she must have thought he’d been describing a single person this entire time. He couldn’t exactly blame her; it wasn’t like he was able to keep track of his own relationships as it was, let alone start explaining them to someone else.

Still, each time she provided her services (with a side dish of playful banter) Vanitas found himself growing fonder of her and her talents. He knew not everyone could have an eye for this quite the way she did. He liked the way she bit the tip of her tongue between her teeth as she tied perfect bows around stems and vases. He liked the way she always gave the base of the flowers one last fluff and a look of pride before presenting them, like she was sending a kid off to school for the first time. He even liked the way she blew her messy pink curls out of her face when she got sweaty arranging things to absolute perfection with more precision than a surgeon. It was all endearing and annoying as hell. 

He was spacing out again. Ava was behind him now, turning off the neon open sign with a tug of the little beaded string that hung from its base.

At the register was her completed masterpiece, all soft purple and white with matching silk ribbons tied at the base. Vanitas breathed a sigh of relief as he pulled out his wallet.

“You’re a miracle worker.”

“I know,” She said with a smirk on her face, plucking his credit card out of his fingers almost as soon as he pulled it free. “It’s a pricey one this time, though.”

“Can’t be helped,” He shrugged, not bothering to look at the price on the register. If it got Xion to talk to him again (and subsequently, everyone else off his case), it was about as necessary as a purchase could get.

Ava swiped his card through the reader and the little beep of approval resounded through the empty shop. “Success!” She chirped as she snatched up the printed receipt and presented it back to Vanitas on top of his credit card. 

“I’m hoping it will be,” He grumbled, hastily jamming them both haphazardly into his wallet then crammed that back inside his pocket beside his phone, which was currently vibrating non-stop; it was clear he was now on a bit of a time limit for this particular apology.

As he proceeded to scoop up the vase, Ava interjected. “Oh! Did you uh...want me to write a card for it this time?” 

Vanitas opened his mouth to decline but she had already selected one and whipped out a sharpie in the blink of an eye. He let out a resigned sigh. “Sure.”

Her face lit up with a devilish grin. He had made a mistake.

As her marker made elegant loops on the little card, he began to make out the words:

‘Sorry I’m a fucking idiot’

It was written in the most elegant cursive he had ever seen. Ava slid the card into a long-stemmed clear plastic holder and then slipped it in among the flowers. 

He couldn’t help but smile. “You’ve reached your artistic peak.”

“Oh, I’ve only just begun,” Ava slinked around the counter with the vase now carefully cradled in her arms. “Here, I’ll see you out. I have to lock up behind you.”

She held the flowers out for him and for a brief moment, his hands briefly brushed up against her as he tried to find the best way to gently cup the glass vase. They were a rough kind of soft, silky skin adorned with the scars of healed little cuts and scratches from working with her hands so much. Vanitas wondered how often she pricked herself on thorns from the flowers she seemed to love so much. 

“...Thanks,” Vanitas said genuinely, staring down at her with his smile still lingering from before. ”For getting my ass out of trouble, again.”

“Any time, loverboy,” She replied with a playful drawl on her tongue as she held to door open for him. “Now get going so I can lock up!” 

Vanitas rolled his eyes and scowled at her as he saw himself out, but he was smiling as he stepped out onto the street. 

Inside, as she was sweeping up around the counter several minutes later, Ava bent down and pulled something shiny from the pile of dirt and balled up receipts on the floor. Wiping the dust off the little rectangle of silvery plastic (a credit card, she realized now), she saw the name she had been sneaking glances at for the past three months clearly. Vanitas. 

She slipped it in the front pocket of her apron with a contented smile, knowing she would be seeing her favorite customer again sooner rather than later.


End file.
